Tanushka Marah
Artistic Director
Tanushka is currently working for the Royal Shakespeare Company as Movement Director on their production of A Museum of Baghdad. After completing a BA Honours in Philosophy, Tanushka trained in theatre. She set up her own ensemble, Company:Collisions, in 1999 which toured 5 major productions all across the UK and many commissions and street shows. She was a winner of one of The Young Vic Young Director Awards in 2002. Her production of Medea, developed at the Young Vic, toured international festivals in Cyprus and Albania, representing British Classical Theatre. She also toured street theatre shows in France and Spain. Her work has appeared twice at the London International Mime Festival. Her last production, Rest Upon The Wind, performed to sell out audiences in London’s West End before touring extensively in the Middle East during 2012. She now works as a freelance director and movement coach and has directed many plays around the UK including Shakespeare, Classical Theatre, Children’s Theatre and New Writing. Tanushka has a passion for working with young actors and finds working with young performers deeply inspiring and energising. For a year she directed young actors at the Miskin Theatre. She has also directed two shows for apprentice actors/emerging artists in Liverpool, Hope Street and Aberystwyth Arts Centre and end of year shows at The London Metropolitan and Northbrook Colleges.
Gina Kawecka
Drama Tutor
Gina trained as an actor at the BAFTA Award winning Television Workshop, working as a professional actor on stage, TV & film. She has a wealth of experience in devising, directing and teaching; her continued and respected work with young people in Drama gives her the insight, sensitivity and sense of humour required to work with younger actors. A practical, positive approach, partnered with a creative and imaginative flair and a love for storytelling in all its dramatic forms. Her film work focuses on character and emotional tone. Passionate about inspiring teams toward a shared vision, and thinking creatively around both content and form. Her first short film ‘Plaster’ was officially selected for film festivals in the UK, Sydney & Mumbai. Gina leads Brighton Young Film Makers at Brighton Film School and teaches independently around the UK.
Graham Shackell
Drama Tutor
Graham works as a practitioner theatre, circus, and storytelling and combat. He specialises in creating site specific and outdoor spectacle events, including theatrical performance, circus, storytelling, film and moving visual arts installations. Graham runs Sometime Soon Arts and is also a regular collaborator with the internationally acclaimed large scale performance company Periplum. Graham is also a freelance tutor, delivering workshops and educational projects with BTEC and HND students from Northbrook College and North Herts College. Graham also teaches master class residencies in Spain, Greece, France, and Italy with Pavilion Tours to performing arts students at A level, BTEC, and HND level.
Sarah Leaver
Drama Tutor
Sarah Leaver has been working in theatre for 16 years as an actor, devisor and teacher. She trained in physical theatre and mime and specialises in mask, mime and clowning. She has worked with theatre company Periplum for 10 years, touring their outdoor large scale shows around the UK and in Mexico and Poland. She worked for mask based theatre company Facepack for 14 years and worked with physical theatre company Company:Collisions for 8 years. Sarah has written and performed her own solo show for which she was nominated Best Solo Performer at Brighton Fringe Festival. Sarah teaches theatre at Northbrook College where she has received a Grade 1 teaching grade from Ofsted and a teaching award.
Denise Evans
Drama Tutor
Denise Evans has been performing in physical and ensemble theatre since 1982 with companies including Fusion Theatre, (co-founded with George Dillon), Kaboodle Productions (actor-manager 1986-1994), Volcano Theatre, Vital Theatre, Company Collisions, Boilerhouse. She worked with Steven Berkoff on his film of Decadence and played Jocasta in Tom Morris’s production of Oedipus at BAC. She played Medea for Tanushka Marah’s original production at the Jerwood Space, London for The Young Vic Theatre. This production later toured Britain and featured at the International Festival of Greek Theatre in Cyprus as well as being invited to the Butrint Festival in Albania. Denise also teaches performance skills and is a theatre director (recently Oh What a Lovely War, Alice, Animal Farm). She was Movement Director on the award winning production of East for 2016 Brighton Festival which featured at the Theatre Royal in 2017. Denise has a PGCE teaching qualification and was consistently awarded Grade 1 Outstanding by Ofsted during her time as a lecturer. She has recently retired as a director and lecturer at The Miskin Theatre, Dartford and is now a freelance teacher and theatre director, as well as running Windmill Young Actors – Lewes & Hastings.
Luan Taylor
Company Manager
Luan Taylor is Windmill’s Company Manager. She is also a director, performer, teacher and currently the Creative Communities Manager at South East Dance. She was the Artistic Director of Ragroof Theatre for over 10 years with varied and extensive experience leading Theatre and Dance workshops, working with a broad cross-section of the general community as well as with fellow professionals.
She has worked with students in both primary and secondary education, as well as at BTEC level and within Universities.
Luan specialises in teaching Reminiscence Theatre, and site responsive performance, referencing her career over the last 15 years.
www.machinewomen.com
Angela El-Zeind
Drama Tutor
Angela is a performing arts lecturer, artistic director of Speak Up! Act Out! cic, and an Applied Theatre workshop facilitator. She is also a member of Tiny Dynamite and Pickled Mix comedy improvisation troupes.
Her practice involves working with theatre makers, community groups, charities, corporations, and educational institutes, as well as with individuals as a mentor and coach.
Angela teaches performing arts at the University of Portsmouth and Northbrook college, and in 2019 was the recipient of a travel Fellowship, researching how Improvisation can be used as a tool to support the wellbeing and mental health of young people.
